November 11, 2004

The Donnas

By | November 11, 2004

It happens to the best of us. Actually, it happens to all of us. Michelle Tanner is no longer the morally upstanding toddler we all once knew and loved, who captured our hearts as she solemnly warned “You’re in big trouble, Mister.” Jessie Spano, feminist and environmentalist, has sure stripped down (sorry, had to do it) from her role as Bayside High’s resident ethicist and finally surrendered to the carnal urges of the men she once wrote off as “pigs.” As it turns out, no one is immune to the merciless laws of aging — not our childhood icons, and certainly not The Donnas.

In eighth grade, while the rest of us were busy getting out braces adjusted and experimenting with the strange and scary world known as “first base,” The Donnas were already penning racy and raucous Ramone’s inspired pop-punk tunes. Indeed, The Donnas were infectious. Their songs were raw yet catchy, rarely exceeding the punk gold-standard of two minutes. Their guitar riffs were brazen, lending themselves perfectly to the sacred art of air guitar. They immortalized their infatuation with inhalants in 1997’s “Huff all Night.” They boozed with a fervor that would have shamed Ben Affleck at a bachelor’s party. They bragged about their anonymous sexual conquests, confessing “I come into town and have a look around / And then I find a guy who wants to get down,” in the biblically inspired “40 Boys in 40 Nights.” And best of all, they didn’t apologize for any of it.

But then the inevitable happened. The Donnas grew up, and it seems as though they have celebrated their twenty-fifth birthdays with a couple rounds of horse tranquilizers. On Gold Medal, The Donnas’ sixth release, the girls are barely recognizable. Gone are the angry riffs, the sassy punch lines and the “put out or get out” mantra that has dominated their career until now. This time around, the guitar stylings are more drawn-out, sounding less like The Ramones and more like a band named after a geographic location (Boston or Kansas amongst others.). Lead singer Brett Anderson actually sings instead of wails. And Lyrically, Gold Medal takes on a more introspective, “Dear Diary” tone. To be sure, boys and booze still reign supreme, but suddenly the party has gone sour, and their songs are treated with a “maybe we’re getting too old for this” tone, as seen on such tracks as “It’s So Hard” (It’s so hard to be on your own / When you’re working it all alone). At their best, their newfound lyrical vulnerability is an impressive and refreshing change from the long lost days of getting bombed and banging dudes. But other times, the lyrics are just plain, well, bad. Case in point: “Don’t break me, don’t break me down / Can’t you see my hands on the ground?” Despite the album’s shortcomings, however, Gold Medal has established The Donnas as a musically capable group, as opposed to a mere gimmick. And with Gold Medal it is finally clear that The Donnas are not a novelty — they are a rock n’ roll band, and their fifteen minutes are far from over.

Related

ByNovember 12, 2004

For the first two weeks of the season, the No. 8 men’s hockey team demonstrated exactly why Lynah Rink is one of the most fearsome home venues in the country. With 23 goals in its first four games, the Red also showed that it has arguably the best offensive unit in the nation. The only remaining undefeated team in the NCAA, it has soared to the top of the national rankings in scoring offense (5.75 goals per game), scoring defense (1.00), scoring margin (+4.75), power play (.308), penalty kill (.958), and combined special teams (.620). Cornell (4-0-0, 2-0-0 ECACHL) will look to make all of those accomplishments stand up when it takes its first road trip of the season, a two-game series against Michigan State beginning tonight at 7:05 p.m. “We’re finally leaving the friendly confines of Lynah, so it will be a good test for our players,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “We need to make a statement when we get out there.” The Spartans (4-4-0, 3-3-0 CCHA) have been up-and-down so far this season, going 3-3 in conference and dropping a home game to the ECACHL’s St. Lawrence. Michigan State, which is led by its top line of Jim Slater, Mike Lalonde and Tommy Goebel, has not had much trouble putting the puck in the net this season, as it has only averaged 3.125 goals per game. However, on the defensive end, the Spartans have been victimized by a couple of blowouts, but have been generally solid, ranking 16th in the nation, allowing 2.62 goals per game. Forward Colton Fretter leads Michigan State with six goals this season and has added five assists, good for fifth on the team. He is currently riding a five-game point streak and had two assists in the Spartans’ 4-2 win against Ferris State last Friday. For the Red, the story so far this season has been the way in which the team has spread the wealth on both the offensive and defensive ends. Fifteen different players have scored goals for Cornell over the team’s first four games, testament to Schafer’s commitment to a full-team effort. Junior assistant captain Matt Moulson has led the way with four goals. He is also tops in total points with seven. On the defensive end, Cornell has been equally effective. The two goals allowed Saturday night against Brown were the most the Red has let up in any game this season, including the exhibition against McGill. Sophomore goaltender David McKee has had a pretty easy time so far this year, as he has faced only 70 shots overall. He has a sparkling 1.04 goals against average (good for second in the country) and a .952 save percentage (which ranks fifth), and is quietly moving up the Cornell career charts. He is currently in a fifth-place tie with Brian Cropper ’71 and Matt Underhill ’02 on the Red all-time list with six career shutouts. The Red has not faced the Spartans in nine years, when Michigan State won, 6-2, at the Munn Ice Arena. However, with the Red looking to prove itself as a potent road club, the team is viewing this weekend as vitally important. “There is nothing better than going on the road and playing some hockey,” Schafer said.Archived article by Owen BochnerSun Sports Editor

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In a city where there are more than 10 hotels within a three-mile radius, the controversy over the Remington Inn, the proposed hotel to be built on Cayuga Lake, has led to questions of whether the extra rooms and amenities are necessary. The lakefront property that Remington may be built on has allowed students to use the lake for academics and athletics in the past. Opponents argue that Remington would make the lake inaccessible to students.